Archery bow stabilizer

ABSTRACT

A stabilizer for a compound archery bow comprising a rigid paddle-shaped member conforming to the archer&#39;s forearm, said member being secured to the bow by means of a forward-extending support beam which is attached to the bow handgrip by the insertion and tightening of a forward-extending threaded stabilizer means. The paddle-shaped member is adjustable relative to the support beam and to the bow handgrip by pinch-clamp means.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention pertains to the art of archery, and more particularly toa means of bracing and stabilizing a compound bow during the draw, hold,and release of an arrow.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Modern compound archery bows employ systems of levers, pulleys and camsto enhance the velocity and accuracy of an arrow, while easing thestatic pull of the bowstring when in the fully drawn position. Typicalmodern compound bows are illustrated in Kudlacek U.S. Pat. No. 4,060,066and Martin, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,070.

Accessories have been developed to enhance the accuracy of compoundbows, particularly forward-extending mass stabilizers, which add weightand balance to the bow and also absorb vibration, which allows thearcher to keep and hold a more steady aim on his target. Such a massstabilizer is illustrated in Martin, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,070,FIG. 1. This type of mass stabilizer is typically mounted on or abovethe handgrip of the bow, generally by being threaded into a suitableforward-facing threaded socket in the handgrip, out of the arrow's lineof flight.

THE PRIOR ART

Others have approached the problem of dealing with the problem of wanderand shake during draw, hold and release of a compound archery bow indifferent ways.

Bryant US 2005/0072414 A1 discloses a splint-type brace which the archerattaches to his forearm. The underside of the brace has aball-and-socket clamp attached to a crutch-like support shaft proppedagainst the archer's hip. The brace is not physically attached to thebow in any way.

Muhich U.S. Pat. No. 7,152,595 B1 discloses an adjustable prop or bracewhich is attached to the bow itself, extending in a rearward directionand terminating in a broadened crutch-like support resting against thechest of the archer. Its length is adjustable to accommodate holding thebow either above or below a plane defined by the archer's outstretchedarm, but performing the adjustment requires the archer to release hisdraw and then re-draw after the support is adjusted to the correctlength. The value of maintaing supportive contact with the archer'sforearm is neither disclosed or suggested.

Howell, et al. U.S. Pat. No. 6,173,707 B1 discloses a splint-likeforearm brace and guard which releasably attaches to the bow itself. Thearcher wears a strapped-on arm protector which, when the archer is readyto draw, is engaged with a suitable fitting attached to the bow, eitherby means of a sliding stud-and-slot attachment, or by a tube whichslides over a cooperating horizontal rod.

Torgerson et al. U.S. Pat. No. 5,853,000 discloses a rudimentaryL-shaped wrist brace which engages the archer's bow-holding wrist, butemploys no stabilizing contact with the archer's forearm.

Vest U.S. Pat. No. 5,351,867 discloses an adjustable prop anchored tothe archer's waist which the user swings upwardly into place with onehand while holding the bow outstretched with the other. The prop has aU-shaped arm or wrist rest which supports the archer's outstretched armduring the draw, hold and release phases of the shot. The prop isentirely separate from the bow itself, and will fall out of place if thearcher lifts his outstretched bow-holding arm.

Williams U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,177 discloses a padded brace that loopscompletely around the archer's bow-holding hand, making it difficult toraise and lower the bow from a resting to a shooting position and backagain.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION

Even with the advantages offered by the lessened full-draw pull force ofthe compound bow, and by the stabilizing effect of a forward-facingstabilizer mass, many archers with insufficient forearm strength find itdifficult to hold a bow steadily in a fully drawn position for verylong. They find that the stress of holding a draw for more than a fewseconds causes their aim to wander or shake to the detriment of accuracyand consistency in hitting a targets.

The compound bow has the characteristic of a draw force which variesfrom high to low as the string is brought back to contact the archer'scheek, in contrast to a conventional longbow, where the transition isreversed. This permits the archer to hold the string in a fully drawnposition for a longer time without fatigue. This feature is importantwhile hunting, for example, when the archer may be hidden in a stand orblind and must draw his bow at the first sign of game, but mustthereafter hold the string in the drawn position for a considerabletime, remaining motionless until the game moves into range.

However, after holding the string at full draw for a minute or more,even with the lower pull force of the compound bow, an archer's arm maytire, and his aim may begin to become unsteady. Even a physically fitarcher may experience this problem, and a less strong individual—such asa woman, youth, or senior archer—may soon be unable to hold his or herarrow on target at all.

It is therefore a principal object of the invention to provide anapparatus for providing support and steadiness to the bow and arrow ofan archer while holding a bowstring in the full draw position.

It is a related object of the invention to provide such an apparatuswhich attaches to a conventional compound bow by utilizing the threadedstabilizer socket commonly provided in the handgrip of modern compoundbows.

A further object is to provide such an apparatus which is easilyadjustable with common hand tools to accommodate a variety of archersand their clothing.

A further object is to provide such an apparatus which can beinexpensively manufactured from injection-molded plastic with a minimumof machining or other manufacturing steps, and which combines thedesirable attributes of strength, stiffness and light weight.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent uponreading the following detailed description of the invention.

A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the stabilizer in use by an archer, withthe partial view of the archer and bow in phantom lines;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the opposite side of the stabilizer ofFIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the stabilizer;

FIG. 4 is an end view of the stabilizer;

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the stabilizer;

FIG. 6 is an end view of the stabilizer opposite that of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the stabilizer; and

FIG. 8 is a side elevation of the stabilizer opposite that of FIG. 5.

A DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to FIG. 1, there is shown an archer (phantom lines) holdingthe handgrip 10 of a compound bow 11 (also phantom lines) with his lefthand and forearm 12. The bow 10 is shown in a drawn position, ready torelease an arrow 13. Ideally, the archer's left arm is straightened withthe forearm 12 extended and wrist turned slightly to the left,substantially locking the his arm, forearm and wrist into a rigid unit.The arrow 13 is show with its nock engaged by the bowstring, ready forrelease.

The stabilizer of the present invention comprises a paddle-shapedforearm rest 13 shaped to confirm to firmly engage and contact with thearcher's forearm 12 to provide stability while the bowstring is in adrawn position. The forearm rest 13 may be made integral with thesupport beam 15, but in the illustrated preferred embodiment isadjustably attached to the support beam 15 by a first pinch-clamp means16. The forearm rest and support beam are preferably made ofinjection-molded thermoplastic.

At its forward end, the support beam 15 engages a second pinch-clampattachment means 17 in which is provided a mounting hole 18 throughwhich the threaded end of a screw-in forward-extending mass stabilizer(not shown) is inserted. The stabilizer's screw threads then engagecooperating threaded attachment means in the bow handgrip 10 in theconventional manner, thereby firmly securing the attachment means 17,support beam 15 and forearm rest to the bow 11.

According to the invention, the device is quickly and easily attached tothe bow 11 by simply unscrewing the mass stabilizer, placing theattachment means 17 in line with the hole 18 in threaded attachmentmeans in the bow handgrip 10, and re-attaching the mass stabilizer byscrewing it back into place. The forearm rest is thus secured inposition where it can engage and steady the archer's forearm as the bowis drawn.

Adjustments to suit the needs and preferences of the archer are easilymade by loosening and then tightening the pinch-clamp attachments 16 and17 in the desired location, using conventional tools such as ascrewdriver or hex-headed wrench.

1. In an archery bow having having a handgrip, a forward-extendingstabilizer, and threaded means for attaching said stabilizer to saidhandgrip, the improvement comprising a paddle-shaped forearm restconforming to an archer's bow-holding forearm, a support beam holdingthe forearm rest, and attachment means engageable with said threadedmeans for securing said support beam and forearm rest to said bowhandgrip as a unit with said stabilizer.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 inwhich said forearm rest extends upward from said support beam to contactand partially wrap around an archer's forearm when said bow is held bysaid archer in a drawn position.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 having afirst pinch-clamp means for adjustably engaging and securing saidforearm rest to said support beam, and second pinch-clamp means foradjustably engaging and securing said support beam to said handgrip. 4.In combination with an archery bow having a handgrip and aforward-facing threaded socket for attaching a screw-inforward-extending stabilizer mass, the improvement comprising apaddle-shaped forearm rest conforming to the shape of an archer'sforearm, a support beam connecting said forearm rest with said handgrip,and attachment means for affixing said support beam to said handgripupon the attachment of said stabilizer mass.
 5. The improvement of claim4 including first pinch-clamp means for adjustably engaging and securingsaid forearm rest to said support beam, and second pinch-clamp means foradjustably engaging and securing said support beam to said attachmentmeans for affixing said support beam to said handgrip upon theattachment of said stabilizer mass.